January 3rd Morning Readbook

(AFP/File/Khaled Fazaa)

UK and US close Yemen embassies amid terror threat
The US and Britain have shut their Yemen embassies after threats from an al-Qaeda offshoot linked to an alleged failed US plane bomb plot.


Obama aide says al Qaeda may plan Yemen attack
The United States has indications al Qaeda is planning an attack against a target in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, a senior aide to President Barack Obama said on Sunday.


The Point: Wartime challenges of the new year
One of the consequences of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's failed attempt to kill himself and everyone else aboard Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas has been to alert Americans to the growing fight against al-Qaeda in the obscure nation of Yemen.


Petraeus Visits Yemen as U.S. Beefs Up Counter-Terror Ops
The U.S. has put the Arab state of Yemen at the center of renewed counter-terrorism efforts in the aftermath of the attempted bombing of a U.S.-bound jet, dispatching a top U.S. general to the region and embarking on cooperative efforts with Britain.


Somalia's Al Shabaab Ready to Send Reinforcements to Al Qaeda in Yemen




Taliban: CIA Attack Was Retaliation for Drone Strikes
A senior commander connected to the Afghan Taliban and involved with the attack against the CIA that left eight people dead said Saturday that the bombing was retaliation for U.S. drone strikes in the Afghan-Pakistan border region.


Afghanistan and Pakistan face decisive year
Guest columnist Ahmed Rashid says 2010 looks like presenting Afghanistan and Pakistan with their most difficult set of challenges since the end of the Cold War.


In-depth / The mysterious deal between Washington and Tehran
 Mystery and speculation continue to surround the release of British computer consultant Peter Moore from captivity in Iraq. The 36-year-old was taken hostage with four British bodyguards assigned to him while he was working as an IT consultant in Baghdad for a U.S. firm. He arrived in the U.K. on Friday night.


Iraq's Maliki calls for end to Kurd oil deal row
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called for an end to a bitter row over oil contracts brokered by Iraqi Kurdistan, which has fuelled investor questions about the risks of doing business in war-torn Iraq.


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